Thistle & Weeds
by ClaireT86
Summary: Britain is crumbling in the face of war, Voldermort has never been stronger. Hope is swiftly vanishing from the side of light, there is however one exception, Luna. She brings hope to those in their darkest times as she embarks upon a new path. AU.


Thistle & Weeds

Disclaimer: Shockingly Harry Potter isn't mine!

Author's Note: I apologise for any mistakes I don't have a beta and English was never my strongest subject.

This was just something I had to write I have quite a few more chapter's in my head so hopefully if people are interested I'll post them.

Also, the seventh book never happened and there may be minor differences from the book but it shouldn't make too much difference.

The continual explosions had become the metronome of war. A continuous beat that indicated the current pace of war, keeping a steady count of the rising death toll. Britain had become derelict in the face of war, the modern muggle buildings had become rubble unable to cope with the strain of magical warfare. In the early days of the war the sky had rained bombs, the new weapons in Voldemort's arsenal had flattened Britain causing a never seen before destruction. The streets were littered with the rubble from fallen buildings and abandoned belongings. The remaining buildings were stained black from the bombs that were now a part of everyday life. The few buildings that had survived the early bombings now often stood isolated, whole neighbourhoods had been demolished in one swift blow.

It was amongst one of these piles of rubble that Grimmauld Place stood, only four other terrace houses remained on that street. An uncomfortable silence had settled over the inhabitants of 12 Grimmauld Place. Since the official outbreak of the war it had become a refuge for those who fought on the side of Light. It was not an uncommon sight to see wizards and witches of all shapes and sizes stumble through the threshold and collapse on the closest bed, sofa, chair, spare patch of floor for a couple of hours sleep before forcing down a bowel of the stoves current concoction and heading back out to the war. Occasionally a casualty would appear and the house would momentarily come to life, stretchers conjured, potions retrieved and the inhabitants would go about healing the injured party. For a few days a familiar routine of checks, potion brewing and re-applying bandages and dressings would occur before the injured party moved on in one way or another and the tense aura would once again consume the house.

Grimmauld Place had few permanent residents; to many it was associated with fatigue, illness and death. But to a certain few it was home, Luna Lovegood was one of the few people who called it this. After the death of her father she moved in with the Weasley family who had taken up permanent residence there. One by one they had left to help with the war effort leaving only Molly, Ginny and Luna behind. Time passed and Molly's assistance was required at St Mungo's the war was providing more casualties than it could hold and anyone suitable had been called up to help. In her place she had sent Remus, who had been injured in one of the early battles. After the death of his wife and unborn child his life had lost meaning, he went looking for the death eater's he felt were responsible. It was in one of these confrontations that Remus' luck ran out, he was cornered five to one. If it wasn't for the intervention of Charlie Weasley, Remus would have joined his late wife, instead he had survived, but at a cost. A hex thrown by a retreating death eater hit Remus in the head and he had suffered a stroke as a result. If it hadn't been during the war there may have been a chance that Remus' would have regained all abilities but instead he had been left with a severe impairment in his right side, this had caused Remus' speech to become slurred as the muscles on the right side of his face were now considerably weaker than his left. The muscle weakness meant he could no longer raise his leg and now dragged it behind him as he walked. He was also now no longer able to hold his wand; this is what had caused his permanent residence at Grimmauld Place.

The tense atmosphere that lingered in the halls could be attributed to the same tension that seemed to hang over the whole of the wizarding community. Six months and 8 days ago Harry Potter had disappeared. Two months and eighteen days later the tortured body of Ronald Weasley turned up, causing anguish amongst the Weasley family and causing increasing concern over the whereabouts of Harry Potter. This had increased the tension in Grimmauld Place, Ginny had become secluded from the other residents concentrating on her auror training. After the death of her brother and disappearance of her boyfriend she had become increasingly obsessed with fighting in the war effort. She refused to sit back and let the rest of her family put themselves in the line of danger whilst she just watched them drop one-by-one. No, she was determined to fight along with the rest of them, despite the protests of her mother. Molly had cried that she had already lost one son, that she had no clue of the whereabouts of most of her sons, they were off fighting in various battles across Britain. She was aware that it was highly unlikely that all five of her remaining sons would return to her, she didn't want to add her daughter into the equation. This only furthered her isolation and she rarely communicated with anyone in the house and left all tasks to the other two inhabitants.

However, there was one positive presence in the house, one inhabitant who seemed unaware of the ongoing war and the bleak outlook for the side of light. Luna Lovegood was often seen humming in the hallways, holding conversations with the influx of guests and tending to whatever concoction she had going on the stove. Food was scarce but Luna always manage to scrape enough together to feed however many mouths appeared. She cared for all guests that made an appearance, whether just passing or permanent. She treated all individuals with a kindness that was often unseen in current times, most people had become hardened after seeing the death and destruction the war had caused. Luna however, kept a certain softness when dealing with tired and injured soldiers of light as well as the grumpy unsociable residents. It was this kindness and compassion that had caused Luna to begin her training as a healer, with the ever increasing casualties of the war there was a constant need for more healers. This allowed her to help when the injured casualties appeared at Grimmauld Place and after the death of Madam Pomfrey the Order was in need of another healer. Luna had taken this on with the same enthusiasm she had to her homework back in school, though Hogwarts was a distant memory.

It was this training that had caused her to rise in the early hours before sunrise and before the other inhabitants has even begun to stir. She could currently be found humming a tune her mother had taught her before her untimely death, whilst leaning over the stove in the darkened room, stirring a large cauldron of porridge. She was unaware of the number of guests that they had acquired over the course of the night but hopefully one large cauldron would feed all the mouths that needed it. Luna served herself a bowl before grabbing her cup of tea and sitting down at the rustic table. She balanced her bowl and mug carefully on the uneven table surface. Sitting crossed legged at the table she picked up her Advanced Healers book and began to read.

To the casual observer Luna had changed little throughout the course of the war; she still had wavy long blonde hair that now reached far past her waist. She still possessed the same wide eyed expression as her sapphire eyes carefully observed what was going on around her. A small smile was still permanently etched on her face and she still possessed that ethereal feel about her. The changes were minute, her radish earrings had been replaced by small potion bottle studs, her Ravenclaw robes had been swapped for an uneven blue skirt and Victorian high neck shirt, which was the healer's in training uniform. Although the most observable change to most was the disappearance of mythological creatures and conspiracies from conversation. Luna had not abandoned her beliefs but instead had tucked them away, waiting until the war was over to actively pursue them again.

However, there was one thing about Luna that would never change, she would never let slip away. She still had a tight grasp on her eternal optimism, whilst other's doubted the war would have a favourable end to those on the side of light. Luna still believed it possible. She still believed that everything would work out as it was meant to. It was the belief that had compelled Luna to accept the Order's position of Healer in Hawkeshead; a small village buried deep in the lake district. An area that was under heavy fire by Voldemort's forces, due to it being a stronghold for side of light. There were bound to be many casualties and it was because of this Luna has accepted the position, she was sure that she would be of more benefit there than she would at Grimmauld Place.

It was this that Luna was contemplating as she ate her bowl of porridge that morning. She wondered if Remus could handle the household chores or would the order bring in someone to replace her? Ginny still had a year left of her training but then she too would be off to fight in the war. Luna was only 19 but she was wise beyond her years, she would finish her Healer training in 2 months and then she would be off to Hawskhead. She had less than two months to sit her final exams and figure out how to tell Remus she was leaving. She had formed an unusual connection with the hostile werewolf and she worried what he would do in her absence. She worried he would not look after himself and would end up another casualty of the war.

It was this she was pondering as she heard the floorboards creek as the other inhabitants rose, the metal pipes clanked to life as taps were turned on for a morning wash. They house began to warm as the houses heating spell was activated and the house could be heard buzzing in response. She heard footsteps and mutterings making their way towards the kitchen. Grimmauld Place was coming to life...

Thank you for reading.


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